TRISKELION

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

This was exactly why Laura had wanted someone else to get the groceries, exactly why she didn’t want to be so close to Beacon Hills. The idea that anyone could recognise her, and even as she was trying to find something to say, she caught their scent. A family member, but she couldn’t look up to confirm who it was, lest they get a better look at her.

She knew there were survivors. She just didn’t know who. Didn’t care who, she reminded herself, and she backed up her cart a little.

“I don’t know what you mean, now if you excuse me, I have to get on.”

Derek hadn't seen Laura since she was sent away after her sixteen birthday, trying to send her letters but their mother never giving him the address of where she was or agreeing to send them for him. It wasn't until he began his search for Kate that Derek found where exactly Laura had been taken to, the house the first place he went to when he arrived in New York. He never even approached the front door though, guilty and afraid of what his oldest sister would think of him, of what she would see him as once she knew what happened to their family.

Laura had been safe for so many years away from them, away from Derek's mistakes--he couldn't drag her into what was left simply because he felt lonely.

However, having her in front of him brought back to the surface the longing for his older sister, the need to have those he trusted most and loved near him.

"No, Laura," he said, grabbing her cart, desperate to keep her from leaving. Why was she pretending not to know him? Or did she not recognize him? Maybe after fourteen years, she just didn't remember his scent. Unlike him, who'd had her room and the items she left behind, Laura probably didn't have anything of her siblings with her in New York. "--It's Derek," he said, his voice quieter than before.

“You keep treating me like an object? Then my usefulness will end a lot sooner, because you won’t get another word from me.” She snapped, mimicking the venom from the Alpha. She was done with being treated like a tool. Dimitri saw her for what she could give him, and so did Derek, and she was tired of it. All she wanted to be seen as was a human being, with rights just like everyone else. Was that really so hard?

“I wasn’t paying any attention to anyone other than Lydia and her baby, so no, I didn’t notice the Hale symbol. We’ve known each other since school, our babies were born a week apart, she needed something nice to help her, and so did I. Last time I checked, you weren’t her keeper.” Memories of Aiden’s words came to mind; She’s been spending time with Derek Hale. She will never love us back. She didn’t allow her discomfort to show though.

The second he accused her of being an accomplice to the fire, she didn’t hesitate before slapping him, hard. There was movement from behind her, but when she wasn’t instantly struck down by the guard, she carried on.

“You can think I’m heartless, and you can make the assumption that I’m cut from the same cloth as my aunt, but my daughter was in that house, and if something happened to her, then I would’ve let the house burn down with me in it, so don’t you dare for a second think I’d ever allow her to be harmed.”

"Try," he challenged, stepping closer to her. "As long as Damian isn't with me, you can’t get rid of me. Even if I have to put a collar around your neck myself, you are going to help me. If not, this whole town will know of your involvement with the extremist and your relation to their leader." Derek was tired of threatening Allison, didn't want to keep going around in circles anymore. She wasn't cooperating though, so what else was he meant to do? He was desperate, but he couldn't show her that, couldn't let her take advantage of it.

For being the daughter of hunters, Allison apparently had shit observational skills. "Was the visit about the McCall and Roman pack war?" he questioned, ignoring the explanation the brunette gave to him, not detecting any sign of lying in her voice but not accepting her words. "Because if you are truly going to claim to be her friend, you have no idea what that means. She has enough to deal with, she doesn't need your fucking problems on top of hers." Even if he was only a pack ally, Derek cared about Lydia, and didn't want her to suffer any more than she already had.

The slap was unexpected, the force making Derek turn away from Allison, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. Danai was next to them a second later, her dagger in hand, sternly staring at the brunette. Derek, on the other hand, chuckled, licking the blood off his lip as the wound on the inside of his cheek healed.

"Is that your protective nature, or your guilt?" The Alpha didn't truly believe the Omega had anything to do with the fire. She loved her daughter, he was more than aware of that, and he knew she would never do anything to hurt her. He was angry though, with far too much on his mind to care about rationalizing the situation. "You and Kate love that poor struggling mother act, but we both know that's bullshit for her, so tell me, Ally." He stepped closer to her, in one swift move grabbing the knife out of Danai's hand, taking Allison's and wrapping her fingers around the handle, pressing the tip against his chest. He held her hand in place, growling at Danai to order her to stay out of it, the Beta reluctantly staying still.

Thomas met the alpha’s gaze steadily, his face a smooth mask save for a slightly furrowed brow. It was as damning as any spoken judgment for the disciplined beta-guard. He was well aware of what had transpired in his absence, and while he rested equal blame on himself, that still left a healthy amount to lay at Derek’s feet.

The guard had been sworn to silence, a vow he kept, if unhappily. His first and only allegiance was to Cristian; even when his employer unwisely chose to wander without him. He shifted his weight, the furrowed brow descending into a glare at the alpha’s request.

Before their last encounter, Cristian might have teased Derek for fumbling with words. Now he fussed nervously with Nim’s sundress, picking at invisible threads as he tried to hide his anxiety. The question caught him off-guard, and he sucked in a breath too sharply, coughing as his tender lungs rebelled. He could feel Thomas’ disapproval gathering above his head like a thunderhead, but he refused to be ruled by fear.

Once he caught his breath, he nodded and handed Nim off to the guard, raising a hand to silence his protest. “It’ll be alright, Thomas. Just wait for me at the car.”

Derek met the Beta's gaze, showing no fear nor anger, simply waiting for Cristian to either agree or disagree. The guard not trusting him didn't bother him, but the fact Derek didn't trust him either meant he didn't want this Thomas listening to the conversation he wanted to have with the Omega. The wolf was just doing his job, and maybe he had a strong bond with the one he swore to protect, but he had no business staying around--all the Alpha wanted to do was talk.

He waited for the other to stop coughing, his guilt growing at the realization Cris was yet fully recovered. "I'm not going to hurt him," Derek told Thomas, honesty in his voice, not caring if he was believed or not. Cristian was agreeing to talk alone, and that was the only wolf the Alpha needed believing his words. Derek waited until Thomas took Nimue and left, turning to Cristian. Silence fell between them for a moment, the older male swallowing hard before speaking.

"--I'm sorry, for what I did to you. I know that isn't much, and I don't expect it to be. I just wanted you to know."

“And I told you his name so that we’d be done with each other, but you just can’t stay away, can you?” Allison retorted, rubbing her eyes. She hadn’t had enough sleep for an attack like this, much less with Derek Hale of all people. Now she was irritated that she’d allowed Derek’s guard to drive her anyway, sure the woman wouldn’t take her back home until Derek was finished with her. Well that was fine. If she had to walk the whole way back, then she would.

“Do you really think Elena and Dare give a crap about one random contracted omega? You’re paranoid, Derek. And plus, I didn’t know that was where you were, I was given the address for a play date, and since I needed some fucking normality for my daughter, I took Lydia up on it. So sue me for wanting to do something nice for her.” It was a reasonable enough explanation - it wasn’t exactly a secret that she was friends with Lydia, if Derek asked around.

It took everything in her to not shove him, but she didn’t like her chances of surviving it. “You are the last person Kate would ever suspect me visiting, so even if she did watch where I was going? She’d have no idea that it was where you are. Now are you done? Because me and my daughter were in a fucking fire 24 hours ago, so excuse me for not wanting to stand around making chitchat with you.”

"We'll be done with each other the moment Damian is with me or you become useless to me." There was venom in Derek's voice, the fact Allison thought she could get rid of him that easily irritating him further. He hated depending on her, looking vulnerable in front of an Argent, wishing there was any other way of finding his son so he could distance himself from the whole damn family once and for all. But Allison was the only link he had to Kate, and she was close enough to gain the older Omega's trust while also being reliable enough for Derek to know the information she provided was true. He wasn't letting go of her, not when he was so close, not when Damian's well being was at stake.

"And you are careless. They gave enough of a crap to kill plenty, you don't think they have proven already they'll use whatever means necessary to achieve their goal?" Derek didn't know why he was even trying to explain things to Allison--an Omega wouldn't understand anything about war, no matter what family they came from. "The Hale symbol on everyone's uniform didn't clue you in on who lived there?" There was also the fact Derek wasn't buying Lydia inviting her--the strawberry blonde was in no state for play dates, and she had asked him about her staff not her son’s friends. "Cut the crap, Allison, why did you go see Lydia?"

“… You know I would never do that to you, Derek.” Elena’s voice was soft, a rare honesty in her words. There was a time their families wanted them to unite, to join two powerful packs together, but that seemed like worlds ago now. But even so, Elena knew of the fire. Imagined the pain that it must have caused him, and she had no desire to repeat that to him. “I’m not asking you to believe in my cause, I’m just asking that you trust that I know what I’m doing. This is about more than Dare, though she is more than a party girl. I have explained my reasons, and if those aren’t good enough for you, then I suppose you should be leaving. I have work to do.”

A partnership dissolving was sad enough. A friendship was even more painful. But Elena wouldn’t back down. She was too stubborn to.

Elena didn't care. It didn't matter that there was honesty in her voice, it didn't matter that she truly seemed to believe in her case, or that she was using her concern for Omegas as an excuse. Derek was telling her the horrors she had caused, the lives she had ruined, the pain and suffering that fell completely on her shoulders, and she did not care. Her only concern was her business, her objective, her selfish desires and reasons.

This was what his mother had wanted for him? Who Talia Hale believed would strengthen and please her son? Elena was just like Kate, except she had the right eye color.

Text: You didn’t find it out from me. Okay?

Text: You okay?

Text: I told you I’d get his name.

[thirty minutes later]

Right, alliance. Great for them. He looked up at the burning building and shook his head. No Lydia hadn’t been there. She was at home with Alexander as she should be.

“No, she’s safe. Well for now anyways.” They’d still try and hurt her, find her. Destroy her. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that at the moment.

There was something off about the Omega, but Derek assumed it was due to what he'd just been through, standing between him and the burning building to block the view. Out of sight, out of mind wasn't exactly helpful or even accurate, but the Alpha didn't know what else to do. And he still had to find Lydia.